Gary Lamar Harrell, affectionately known as "The Flea," (born January 23, 1972) is an American

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

coach at the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming, United States. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, ...

and former professional

gridiron football Gridiron football ( ),"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica'' ...

player. He previously was the assistant head coach and running backs coach at the

University of Colorado Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University o ...

. Harrell was a

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL),

World League of American Football NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa) was a professional American football league that functioned as the List of developmental and minor sports leagues, developmental minor league of the Nati ...

(WLAF) and

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL) for three seasons during the 1990s. Harrell served two stints as the head football coach at

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

from 2011 to 2012 and 2014 to 2016, with a leave of absence in 2013. He joined the coaching staff at

Alabama State University Alabama State University (ASU, Bama State, or Alabama State) is a public historically Black university in Montgomery, Alabama. Founded in 1867, during the Reconstruction era, it was one of about 180 " normal schools" established by state gove ...

in January 2019, after a two-year stint under

Lane Kiffin Lane Monte Kiffin (born May 9, 1975) is an American football coach who is the head coach at Ole Miss Rebels football, Ole Miss. Kiffin was the offensive coordinator at USC Trojans football, USC from 2005 to 2006, head coach of the National Foo ...

Florida Atlantic University Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, United States. The university is a member of the State University System of Florida and has s ...

Playing career

College

Harrell was a four-year letter winner as a

and punt return specialist at

He started every game for Howard's 1993 team, which won the

Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC ) is a List of NCAA conferences, collegiate athletic conference whose full members are historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and the Mid-A ...

(MEAC) title. Harrell holds the Howard record for most receptions in a game (13) and in a career (184). He was inducted into the Howard University Hall of Fame in November 2005, and also received a proclamation from the City of Miami declaring it Gary "Flea" Harrell Day. Prior to attending Howard, he was a varsity athlete at Miami Northwestern Senior High School in

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

Professional

Harrell played two seasons in the

(NFL), seeing action in four games during the 1994 and 1995 seasons with the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

. He also played one season, in 1996, for the World League's Frankfurt Galaxy if the

(WLAF) and two seasons, from 1996 to 1997, in the

(CFL) with the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: ''Les Alouettes de Montréal'') are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...

Coaching career

Harrell got his start in coaching at his alma mater, as Howard's wide receivers coach from 2002 to 2003. He served as wide receivers as

Texas Southern University Texas Southern University (Texas Southern or TSU) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically Black university in Houston. The university is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund an ...

from 2004 to 2005 and then at

Florida A&M University Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), commonly known as Florida A&M, is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. ...

from 2006 to 2007. In 2008, Harrell was the quarterbacks coach at

Morgan State University Morgan State University (Morgan State or MSU) is a Public university, public historically black colleges and universities, historically black research university in Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland. It is the largest of Maryland's historically bla ...

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

. While at Morgan State he also served as the wide receivers coach for Team Michigan, of the All American Football League (AAFL) in 2008. Harrell then spent to two seasons, from 2009 TO 2010, as the

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator (OC) is a Coach (sport), coach responsible for a gridiron football team's offense (American football), offense. Generally, the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second ...

Bowie State University Bowie State University (Bowie State or BSU) is a public historically black university in Prince George's County, Maryland, north of Bowie. It is part of the University System of Maryland. Founded in 1865, Bowie State is Maryland's oldest his ...

Bowie, Maryland Bowie () is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. Per the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 58,329. Bowie has grown from a small railroad stop to the largest municipality in Prince George's County; i ...

. Harrell returned to Howard in 2011 as head football coach. In 2012, he was honored by the D.C. Touchdown Club as the Local College Coach of the Year at its inaugural awards dinner. Harrell took a leave of absence in 2013, but returned as Howard's head coach in 2014. In five seasons as Howard's head coach, Harrell compiled a record of 20–36 including a 7–4 mark in 2012. Harrell joined

's coaching staff at

in January 2017 as wide receivers coach. Under Harrell's tutelage, senior Kalib Woods was named the MVP of the 2017 Conference USA Football Championship Game. Willie Wright, a freshman, was the team's most consistent wideout and led the Owls with 56 catches and a total of six scores. Following the year, Wright earned a spot on the C-USA All-Freshman team. In 2019, Harrell served as assistant head coach and running backs coach for at

. Harrell joined

Jackson State University Jackson State University (Jackson State or JSU) is a Public university, public Historically Black colleges and universities, historically black research university in Jackson, Mississippi. It is a member of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and ...

in November 2020 as the team's running backs coach under

Deion Sanders Deion Luwynn Sanders Sr. (born August 9, 1967) is an American American football, football coach with the Colorado Buffaloes football, Colorado Buffaloes. Sanders is also a former professional football and baseball player, having played in the N ...

. During the 2021 season, Harrell acted as interim head coach while Sanders recovered from foot surgery. The Tigers won all three games while Sanders was absent. Jackson State credits Sanders as the head coach of record for the entire 2021 season. In December 2022, Harrell followed Sanders to the

to be the assistant head coach and running backs coach for the

Colorado Buffaloes The Colorado Buffaloes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Colorado Boulder. The university sponsors 16 varsity sports teams. Both the men's and women's teams are called the Buffaloes (Buffs for short) or, rarely, the Golden ...

. In January 2025 it was announced that Harrell left the team. In April 2025, Harrell was announced as the running backs coach at the University of Wyoming.

Personal life

A native of

, Harrell earned a degree in marketing from Howard in 1994. He and his wife, Tenika, have two children: a daughter, Jasmine, and a son, Gary Jr., who also played football at Howard.

Head coaching record

References

External links

Wyoming profile

Colorado profile

Florida Atlantic profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harrell, Gary 1972 births Living people American football wide receivers Canadian football wide receivers Alabama State Hornets football coaches Bowie State Bulldogs football coaches Colorado Buffaloes football coaches Florida A&M Rattlers football coaches Florida Atlantic Owls football coaches Frankfurt Galaxy players Howard Bison football coaches Howard Bison football players Jackson State Tigers football coaches Montreal Alouettes players Morgan State Bears football coaches New York Giants players Texas Southern Tigers football coaches Wyoming Cowboys football coaches Miami Northwestern Senior High School alumni Coaches of American football from Florida Players of American football from Miami Players of Canadian football from Miami Sports coaches from Miami African-American coaches of American football 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen